


The Hatred of Dead Men

by Zhurenaissance



Series: X-Men - 5 Years Later [3]
Category: Marvel (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Skip, Gen, Hellfire Preparatory Academy, Jiangshi, M/M, Omega Red - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-01-14 18:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhurenaissance/pseuds/Zhurenaissance
Summary: Paige is the Headmistress of Hellfire Preparatory Academy, a prestigious boarding school on the Marin Headlands.Something is about to attack the kid's New Years Dance.Daken is helping with security and dating the Coach, Omega Red?!?





	1. Prologue

It was six thirty in the morning on Saturday, December 28th, and, like clockwork, the Headmistress of the Hellfire Preparatory Academy - Marin, White Rook of the Inner Circle, Paige Guthrie began her leisurely daily five mile run on the treadmill in the idyllic Taylor Athletic Complex. She wore a snow short-sleeved crop top with the school emblem and running capris of the same style with baby powder running shoes. Set amongst the ivory walls and pillars of the complex she sparkled.

In similar fashion, a little late at six thirty-two, a White Bishop known as Tessa, or Sage to some, joined her best friend, as she did every morning that there were neither crisis nor disaster at hand. Dressed entirely in black, she wore the exact same outfit as Paige. Tessa gave a big yawn as she moved up to six miles an hour. 

Paige grinned over brightly, “Mornin’ there, rough night?” Their gaits gradually synced up to a casual stride.

Tessa gave a guttural groan of grief, “Ugggh, I was twenty nine point three minutes late to bed doing telepathic reports on all the kids. I’m down full points of efficiency. I feel bloated even after adjusting my hormone levels.” She rubbed the back of her neck and rolled her head in a stretch. 

Paige pursed her lips into such a face. “That explains a thing or two.”

“Ohhhhhhh?” Tessa’s face became unusually animated with devious curiosity. The normally stoic telepath breaking out into wicked glee. “So, Second Date. How was it? Tell me, tell me!”

“You could just read my mind.” Paige suggested airily.

Tessa smirked at that. “And miss out on your beautiful faces? Never. Now spill.”

Paige rolled her eyes, “Well, he’s nice, charming… handsome…” she mulled it over.

“You said all of those things last time, come on.”

“Ah don’t know, he’s basically perfect.” Paige slipped just a little into her Kentucky drawl, keeping  pace and talking. “Went to dinner at Scott’s in Oakland, he was corny and old fashioned, we talked about being teen superheros and education of the new kids, which he’s passionate about so,” she waved at herself, “good fit there ah guess. He’s an activist, has all these stories ‘bout marchin for mutant rights, women’s rights, pride parades. We shared origin stories, did you know he literally took a bullet for Steve Rogers? Ah cried. The way he told it? Ah cried. Course if you’re feeling bloated that explains it, but still. Tears, girl.”

“I’m reading a great big ‘Buuuuuut’ here?”

“Doesn’t take a mind reader ah’m guessin. Just been thinkin about how wrong it could all go. What if datin him brings more attacks on the school? What if ah really fall for this guy but he can’t look past the Hellfire Academy’s past? What if he’s not actually such a nice guy? What if he’s actually that great? What if we can’t have kids? Ah don’t know, a Super-Soldier and a Mutant? What if those kids ain’t mutants?” She started to breathe a little harder, exerting herself to keep up that smooth tandem pace.

Tessa slammed the stop button on her treadmill and slowed down to a stop, placing her hands on her hips. “Really? Really, Paige?”

Paige didn’t stop but just looked over with a mildly reproachful expression. “What?”

“First, this is the second date and you’re already thinking about kids? That is extremely premature!”

“Well…”

“Secondly, are you really, I mean Really, going to talk yourself out of dating Captain America?!? Leader of the West Coast Avengers?!”

Paige sputtered and flustered at that, reaching for anything. “He’s only Captain America: West Coast, it’s not like he’s the only one.”

Tesses groaned in frustration and pressed two fingers to her temple, heaving a deep sigh. “From all of the data I have gathered, the two of you have a statistically relevant chance of finding real love, Paige. That’s more than I can say about any of the disposable dopes you’ve tried in the last three years. Do you want the numbers? Because I can give you numbers. Want me to run your gene scans? Is that what it’ll take for you to let this guy cross your Mason-Dixon Line?!”

Paige gasped, scandalized, blushing. “Tessa!” She hissed as she hit her own stop.

“I won’t let you jeopardize a potentially optimal pairing because of your doubts. It’s counter-indicated in the Absolute Besties Regret Minimization Matrix.” Tessa crossed her arms and nodded as if that was that and, as such, was final.

Paige blinked a few times, bewildered, before shaking her head and smirking. “Absolute Besties Regret Minimization Matrix?”

“Yup! The happier you are, the larger my own optimal range becomes.” Tessa stuck out her chin defiantly.

“Now you’re just making things up.”

“I am not. I can, and will, show you the emotional calculus.”

Paige just began laughing at that. “That’s why you’re mah Absolute Bestie ah guess.”

“To use your own charming Kentucky vernacular ‘darn tootin’.”

Paige coughed and straightened herself and her accent out. “I have never said that in my entire life. You know how much these Northern California parents would hate it if their children were watched over by someone from the ‘South’.”

Tessa grinned back. “Got it.” She started the treadmill back up. “So about those reports.”

This time it was Paige’s turn to release a heavy sigh and get back to the running. “Go ahead.”

Naturally, they landed back in step with one another immediately. “I’ve got bad news and worse news.” Tessa waved a hand and before them in the air sprang telepathic holograms of charts, dates, several flagged folders with student’s faces on them. “Since winter break began there has been an overall drop in semantic and declarative memory potentiation across all students with the median loss of pre-break lessons being two weeks, but with math as highlighted being as much as a month of loss for some students.”

Paige looked over the charts and nodded. “How’s their episodic memory?”

“Well we’ve got action all over, seems like they are making some serious, memorable, mischief.”

“My little Hellions.” She beamed with pride. “Well, that’s hardly bad news then, isn’t it?”

Tessa frowned at this. “It’s skill degradation, how isn’t it bad?!”

Paige shook her head at this and smiled. “If we were a normal school using old and broken pedagogy, I might be worried. But, the fact is, we’re not. We teach our classes telepathically, each student advances at the pace that’s right for them. Our students are frequently beyond their grade level in at least one, if not all, subjects and those that aren’t wouldn’t stand a chance in the public school system!” Her face became one of steely resolve, a dangerous glint in her blue eyes. “I won’t let what happened when the Lord Cardinal was my Headmistress happen again. Even if we aren’t the highest, academically, in the Hellfire Academy system I will give these students the chance my Generation never had. The chance to just be kids.”

Tessa pursed her lips and considered. “It’s inefficient, but as I am the one with several reprimands on file for engaging too little empathy in student management, I will defer.”

“Thank you. Now, what about the worse?”

“Black Court Hellfire Intelligence has gotten precog confirmation, the attack will occur on New Year’s Eve at the dance. Presence of the, already requested, backup lowers student mortality chances to fractions of a percent, but some injuries are almost certain. In particular,” she pulled the specially marked folders into the center view, “these students are the most likely to jump into combat without appropriate levels of durability.”

The Headmistress’ face fell a bit, it wavered between pride and concern. It was like that in every class, it seemed. A few students could not help themselves and time after time would put themselves on the front line of danger. It was part of her duty to nurture these fledgling daredevils into the champions of tomorrow, be they human or mutant. In their faces she saw herself. But in their spaces she would sometimes see Angelo Espinosa or Everett Thomas, her classmates who died in their teens, died being heroes. Paige made a disgruntled noise and just ran for a bit. Tessa, for her part, was simply patient. “And we still don’t know who it’s going to be?” Paige inquired.

Tessa chose her words carefully. “We know that the threat will be supernatural. So any magical being, sorcerer, or magically empowered human?” The sounds of feet bounding on the treadmill in perfect synch punctuated the displeasure that tasted in the back Paige’s throat. “I know. It’s never going to be perfect, but we can work with this. It’s a non-lethal supernatural encounter, this is the kind of growth opportunity you’ve been talking about. It’s well within safety margin.” Tessa tried to reassure.

Paige’s brows knit in frustration. “Yes, yes. I know. I just keep thinking of Bo.” Tessa exhaled sharply as if hit. That name was powerful in these hallowed halls. The young mutant who had been found on Monster Isle had grown to a fierce underclassman. Always the first to protect her classmates, when the Sentinels came she was the first death the Marin branch of the Hellfire Academy suffered, but not the only.

It was their first real failure as administrators, the event had shaken both of their faiths, but together they had persevered. “It’s not the fault of either of us that the legacy of Bolivar Trask continues to haunt mutantkind.” 

“When’s the next Sentinel incursion?” Paige growled, face forward in full on death glare.

“W-we predict late April.” Tessa failed to keep her voice from wavering.

“How many deaths?”

Tessa hesitated, pushing her black hair behind her ears. “These aren’t exact science you know, prediction that far out is… hazy. There are so many factors that have to line up right to keep casualties down, but security will be working overtime. Black Court is working on the time travel solution an-”

Paige interrupted. “How. Many.” And thus they ran in silence for a time.

“We can’t get the number below one.” Tessa admitted solemnly. She watched as the words hit home. The fragile peace and air of control that Paige had been cultivating began to crumble at the edges, in the watery eyes, the downturn of a frown, and the hitched breath of chest tightening sadness. Tessa did not need to read minds to feel the pain the Headmistress was under, because it was her school as well, her students at risk. Even the stone had shed tears for innocent lives lost.

Paige’s gaze broke as tears began streaming down her face. She slammed the stop button and walked to a stop. Gripping the bar of the treadmill her head hung, blonde hair draping over her face. She sniffled, then snorted, bringing her arm up to wipe at her nose. Tessa stopped running as well. Tessa’s hands came up to embrace her friend, but she blanched a moment, unsure as her best friend, headmistress, and team leader began to sob. Paige grabbed those outstretched hands and pulled herself into a tight embrace. Ignoring the sweat, the snot, and the heat she quietly cried there. “How did she do this?” Paige asked in a tight whisper.

Tessa held Paige tight. “It isn’t your fault. We’ve made this semester without losses. We’re safer than the X-Academy, safer than the Jean Gray School, we’re the safest place a mutant can get an education. Objectively, this is optimal.” She tucked that blonde head under her chin and brushed Paige’s back.

That didn’t stop crying. “They killed my brother, they killed Angelo, and they keep killing my kids! Why can’t I stop my students from dying?!?”

Tessa could enter Paige’s mind, find out exactly what to say, but that was not their way, not the kind of friends they were. She ached to soothe this outburst with her powers, it would be so neat, so tidy. But Paige was a messy person, one who embraces the chaos of education. She could not remove her friend’s agency like that. “We’re doing everything we can. We… we’re doing everything we can.” Tessa murmured, knowing it wasn’t enough. 

Paige made an ugly noise, primal and full of regrets. “I’m tired of losing precious young lives to the hatred of dead men. Their ghosts take from us and give nothing back but ash.” She wiped her eyes of tears. “As long as we exist, someone will try to oppress us.”

Tessa was at a loss. It was in moments like these that she was faced with the inescapable truth that she did not understand. Certainly she could logically comprehend and, with a bit of psychic intrusion, even feel exactly how Paige was feeling. The same mind that was constructed to analyse every stimuli and run it through batteries of interpretation left her with an empathy gap that caused her heart to ache. She knew she was valued as Sage, that her mind was respected for what it was, Paige never asked for anything else. But her best friend was in pain and all she could summon, she knew, were facts in the face of turmoil. “Statistically speaking, if we stay on course as we are today, we will reach the tipping point for population in just over eight decades. With projected mutant lifespans, barring catastrophe, you will live to see it.” Tessa swallowed and dug deep. “I am dedicating personal effort to making sure you see it.” 

Paige straightened and smiled at her absolute bestie, tears streaming down her face, nose running, eyes puffy. “You’re right. You’re always right. You’re doing everything you can, but I’m not. Not yet.”

Tessa tilted her head ever so slightly, arching a brow. “What do you mean?”

Paige gripped her own face and pulled, skin peeling away with a horrific tearing noise. The face beneath her own was untouched by tears, perfectly composed and presentable. She continued tearing, husking her outer layer onto the floor and with it the sweat and grime. “Ask the analysts what kind of numbers we can get if I’m dating Captain America and the Avengers just so happen to be here on the day of the attack.” She said with an icy tone.

“Paige, that’s unusually ruthless of you.”

The Headmistress of the Hellfire Academy sneered. “She would have done it for us. I will inform the Lord Cardinal personally. Who knows, Emma may even be proud of me.”


	2. Mr. Rossovich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daken arrives at the Hellfire Academy
> 
> Introducing Arkady Rossovich: BALLET INSTRUCTOR

Every time he mounted the steps of the Hellfire Preparatory Academy he became immediately thankful of being incredibly rich. In his life he had been destitute, homeless, starving. But, with his incredibly long lifespan, just a few solid investments had turned into wealth, wealth that allowed him to join the Hellfire Club, wealth that had allowed him to pay his little sister’s tuition. Not that she couldn’t get a scholarship, but he enjoyed that she didn’t need one. He paid just the same as the old money snobs who competed for their children’s slots in the only private boarding schools that taught telepathically.

But, of course, Daken did more than just pay tuition.

His charitable contributions, funded by leftovers from his time as kingpin of Madripoor, had opened up three new buildings across the world and a four court indoor tennis arena right here in Marin, California. He had signed on as a White Court Enforcer, lending his superlative combat skills to saving students across the globe. It wasn’t enough to simply match the flatscan parents, there was nothing Daken enjoyed more than being better and rubbing it in their piggish little faces. Well, he enjoyed spending time with Gabby more, naturally. He popped the white fur collar of his Hellfire Staff jacket as he entered the boarding school.

He looked perfect, naturally. It was effortless in affect, despite how long it took him, the casual stray wisp of hair that escaped from his hair-pinned bun fell over his Gucci shades, perfectly placed of course. He considered it a shame there was no class in session, no wandering moppets to appreciate his tailoring and the improvements to the Staff uniform. It was enjoyable to stunt for kids who appreciated him so much more than most of his peers. Daken was very much looking forward to spending time with the exception to that rule once this dull meeting was over.

He entered the Headmistress’ Office, dramatically, as was his wont. Flippantly breezing through the door he pulled his shades down and tucked them into his collar. He brushed his hair back with one hand and gave his steamiest look to the blonde behind the desk and her black-haired shadow. “Ladies.” He tried to hit the perfect rumble in his voice.

Paige Guthrie blinked once, slowly. She looked at him like one might look at a mime, bewildered. “Daken. You are such a dork. Have a seat.”

Daken made a pffft sound with his lower lip and rolled his eyes. “You’re helpless, hayseed. I am a gorgeous, dark, ethnically ambiguous, bad boy with too much fashion sense for my own good. How you fail to see me, staggeringly attractive as I am, is a mystery.” He settled himself sideways on the chair, legs crossed over one arm, leaning against the other. His jacket opened just right to show off a little skin around his hip. Sage choked back a laugh.

“I’ve had enough bad boy to last a lifetime. You’ve been tapped as reinforcements for this job because, for some completely unknowable reason, the precogs believe your presence will ensure the safety of the student body. With your sister in attendance, I believe our goals align.” Paige opened. “We’re expecting a supernatural threat this time.”

Daken batted his eyelashes fetchingly. “Yes, vampires of some sort. Gabby told me.”

Paige narrowed her eyes and Tessa stiffened imperceptibly. “It is unusual for me to be the less informed. How did Gabby come by this information?” Sage questioned.

A cruel little smirk lit on Daken’s face. “Apparently Dracula showed up for Christmas at my sisters’ place. I don’t know all the details, but the Lee-Kinney household is apparently Vampire Enemy #1 right now. Might include me, I guess.” He shrugged.

Sage rocked back onto her heels for a moment then back again. “When they see you they’ll stop trying to infiltrate the dance and will focus on you. That’s how we keep the children safe.”

Paige did her best to keep a straight face through her obvious surprise and elation. “Daken, you’re willing to be vampire bait?”

Daken tsked at this and rolled his eyes. “I think I’ve made my commitment to keeping Gabby safe plenty obvious. Let me be clear, I’m no one’s bait. I’m going to kill every last bloodsucking creep that dares threaten my family, that’s all. The rest of you are just pretty window dressing.” He sounded bored and disaffected with the whole concept, his eyes barely open, seemingly completely relaxed.

Paige could see through such a facade clearly. Bloodlust boiled from the effete figure before her. “Send a monster to fight a monster, I reckon. Speaking of which, the dance doesn’t start till eight, so if you want to spend some time with Arkady while you’re in town…” She trailed off in obvious suggestion.

He perked up at that, trying to conceal his smile, poorly. “Has he been asking after me? I mean, of course he has, I’m endlessly charming. I’m flattered. He’s so dreamy.”

The Headmistress blinked at Daken again. “When I was in school he terrorized my class, I used to have nightmares about him, now he’s the combat instructor assigned under me. You’ll forgive me if I don’t see him, or you, that way.”

“More is the fool on you.” Daken dismissed casually.

“But,” Paige growled through clenched teeth, “he’s also an incredibly hard worker and has done a lot to keep the kids safe this year. I trust you’ll have a good time.”

Daken rested his chin on a thumb, fingers curled at the lips. He looked seriously at Husk for the first time since he walked in. The hair on Paige’s arms raised immediately and she kept in the impulse to husk her skin to a more durable material. This was the cost of business with psychopathy. Daken scrutinized her for a time and, for her part, Paige was able to stay solid as a stone, and despite the killing intent radiating from him, she remained absolutely confident. Though not indifferent. He found it refreshing, the subtle twitch of eyebrow. He recognized that facial affect, it was Emma’s. Daken then flashed his most winning grin and the threat vanished like mist. “I’m always a great time.” 

Paige let go of the tension slowly, watching Daken take his measured time to get out of his seat. She stole a glance to look at Tessa who was already pulling up screens from which to send messages about the contents of the meeting. Secretarial action was a sign of de-escalation, Tessa wouldn’t let herself be distracted if Daken were still in a mood for violence, but Paige remained entirely ready until he had left the room. Once gone she turned to her best friend. “Can you give me numbers on him harming students again?”

Tessa smiled as she threaded a thought to reply through the torrent of information. “With current data, 1 in 1500 or roughly twice as likely as a given student being hit by a lightning bolt.”

Paige rubbed her forehead and knit her brow. “How did she do this?!”

Outside of the office Daken stalked down the hall with a self-satisfied smirk. He opened up his nose and tracked his way through the buildings of the school campus. He sketched the way Arkady smelled in his head. Always crisp and clear, the death effect in his pheromones smelled of ice and ash. It was so unlike any killer he had known before, so usually soaked in blood, poison, or gunpowder. It was clean. It was intoxicating. The man was a snack. Daken congratulated himself on his excellent taste.

The Taylor Athletic Complex always struck Daken as a really strange flex. He had contributed tennis courts to its construction in a power play against one of the other Hellfire members who also had children. Thinking back on it, however, he suspected they had all been made pawns in one of Dwayne Taylor’s schemes. It was the single largest building on the campus, obviously. With multiple indoor olympic swimming pools, multiple indoor tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball, racquetball, squash, a weightlifting room, olympic gymnastic equipment, and a full sprung floor just a portion of the contents it was monstrous in size and not a little tacky to Daken. Colossal ivory pillars held up the yawning, cavernous roof. Everything was lit softly and warm in this megastructure and the cognitive dissonance always bothered him. Daken also fundamentally failed to see how any structure with a Danger Room in it needed anything else. He followed his ears to the screeching children he heard in the distance.

When he came upon the scene it was as saccharine sweet as Daken expected to see. Arkady stood in the middle of a writhing mass of carbonadium tendrils with small children swinging from one coil to another. He was the shifting jungle gym and the kids leapt with complete fearlessness directly towards the seven foot tall giant in a Hellfire Academy tracksuit. Daken watched as the layers of coils radiated from the herculean swings of Arkady as a pack of gremlins mercilessly sought to advance through the ripples and ebs of defensive tentacles. “That’s it my starlings, see the path in the moment. Pull backwards, swing forwards.” The albino mutant encouraged.

This rag-tag group of 8 to 12 year old kids were almost all visibly mutants. Daken suspected that with the average wealth of the Hellfire Academy parent only the scholarship kids would have a hard time returning to their homes for winter break, if those homes would even accept them back. So here they were on New Years Eve, playing a game with one of the most dangerous killers on the planet in innocent bliss. Daken loved it. 

All the children showed signs of being very familiar with the game, though some were clearly more practiced or gifted. When one would fall to the mat, they would roll all the way out of the hemisphere of tentacles and hop right back into the fray. “This is why we practice falling for so long! Top of the shoulder, opposite hip! Faster my sparrows, faster!” Close to Arkady were a few of the older kids. The lashes of coils that came at the lizard looking one were considerably faster and meaner than those that ran the outer edges. Feints were mixed in with the direct strikes, those white carbonadium tendrils resisting, the game far more dangerous barely twice arm’s reach from the giant albino russian. Yet the light grey scaled humanoid advanced, twisting, reaching, leaping, and behind them trailed a fluffy orange moth looking kid. Daken watched as, together, they tried to obscure the movements of the moth kid behind.

It was ingenious, really. The pair were patient and waited till they were within striking range, then with a single-maneuver the moth jumped up past the lizard to land in their scaled hand. Though small of frame, that young body was somehow strong enough to launch their moth, the fastball special, mid-jump. It defied comprehension that these children could have this level of what was essentially combat coordination. There was simply not enough time for Arkady to change his positioning to avoid the throw at such close range. The child hurtled through the intervening space and tackle-hugged the mass murderer! Fluffy antennae patted about as a psychic call sprang forth “I got you Mr. Ross-o-vich!”

Arkady laughed uproariously and the ropes of carbonadium went slack, triggering an onslaught of cheering as the rest of the kids piled in to grapple with the giant. Energetic monsters clung to his every limb, screeching, demanding attention as he congratulated them. “Very good little sparrow, you have caught me. This is good practice for if I am ever mind controlled! Remember what I always tell you?”

A shy little voice replied, “That the struggle for mutant liberation is based in class struggle?”

“I do say that, but what else do I remind you?”

A boisterous call yelled out, “Powered conflict happens between allies and enemies!” A little fist punched towards the sky.

“That’s right my little ones. In your lives it is likely you, or friend like you, will be possessed, mind controlled, infected by alien, hit with emotion ray, or just misled and lied to. So when you find yourself in combat with a friend or loved one? Know how to disable without hurting them too badly. Headache in morning is terrible!” He held his head and made a sick face for the kids, wobbling a bit. The children laughed and told their coach that if they used their powers they could totally beat him. Daken sighed, bored of watching, he moved up onto the Floor.

Daken liked the murmurs from the kids as he instantly became the center of attention. He ran a hand through his hair and smirked. “Sorry Mr. Rossovich, but we have a super secret mission. You’ll have to come with me.” This triggered rampant speculation from the 8-12 year old kids.

Arkady looked up from his gaggle of students and beamed at Daken. “Super secret mission? My favorite kind!” He turned back to the kids and hunched down, his 7 foot tall frame lowering itself to be mostly kinda eye level. “Alright, my starlings I must go on mission. Remember, watch out for each other, be kind, and your greatest strength is unity, like in game earlier. If you are going to get into mischief, take vote first.” He looked up into thin air. “Heather?”

Daken became very aware as the golden skinned humanoid stepped out of thin air. She had no scent. She made no sound. It was as if she was completely invisible to all of his heightened senses save his sight. She leaned down and cooed, gathering the children with a delighted smile. “Come along my chicks.” She sing-songed and the children flocked to her but not without groans and complaints about not getting to play enough. She never made eye-contact with Daken, but he could feel the malice, the killing intent. A grin split his face as he felt, for one moment, rooted to the ground. Felt her claws pierce his neck. The demon in his belly unfurled and crazed fighting spirit roared against this woman. The kids gasped. She was faculty, he was security, and the kids were Gabby’s friends he assumes. She’d befriend anyone. He de-escalated his stance and grew more neutral. As he did, the killing intent vanished. The menace of this golden woman dissipated. In its place he sees a self-satisfied smile.

“I could kill you for that.” He purred, still grinning.

Those smug alien eyes bore into him. “Perhaps, but you will never hurt these children.” The children huddled behind Heather, practiced, that was how they looked. “You will only focus on me.”

Daken reared back in affront. “Excuse me?!”

A huge hand grasped his shoulder. It was cool on his heat. “Please,” Arkady chuckles, “Do not be offended, she is half-Shi’ar.” as if that explained everything, as if being half-alien was just an excuse to be rude. But his hand was heavy and strong. Daken pursed his lips in pouty displeasure.

“Fine,” he huffed, “run along, brood hen.” He dismissed Heather with a wave that she smiled at. She turned and ushered the children away. “She ever like that to you?” Daken inquired.

“Only on most days. Her power makes more powers depending on other people being endangered. Around so many children?” Arkady shrugged and let that hand slip from Daken’s shoulder down to resting on a hip instead. This welcome touch caused Daken to push his hip directly into that grasp. “Hard to know where the powers end and the person begins. Some school days she can evade my death factor completely. Unnerving, that woman, but so good at her job!”

Daken filed that information away for later. He had this giant hunk of meat to entertain. He broke into a fresh smile. “So, training the little beasts how to take you down, won’t that cause chaos in the classroom?” He turned in to look up at those statuesque alabaster cheek bones. 

“Most of my time in this school is spent teaching ballet. These kids want to be engaged, they all take training very seriously. You know.” Arkady replied.

“Why?”

“Because your little sister takes training very seriously and anything Honey Badger takes seriously, the whole students take seriously.”

Daken placed his hand to his chest. “I am very proud of her.”

“You should be! She has way of bringing out best in people, she even brings out best in you.” The observation was spot on, and not a little piercing. Those faintly glowing red eyes peered at Daken, curious.

Daken scoffed lightly and turned his gaze to the side, crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t true.” He pointed to his, admittedly fluffily altered, white staff uniform. “Wearing Emma Frost’s colors, no less, for her sake. Taking orders from the hayseed, for her sake. So I can see her and be reminded why I took this job which has so far cost me money to have.”

Arkady noded. “Speaking of job, super secret mission is?”

Daken slipped his arms up over Arkady’s neck and pulled himself up, he arched his back just right, pointed a toe, and released a heady cloud of pheromones. Arkady slid an arm into the small of Daken’s back and leaned in, inhaling deeply. Daken’s breath hitched for just a second before he purred. “I’ll brief you in the faculty locker room.”


End file.
